RPG

An RPG, or Rocket-propelled grenade, is a shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that fires explosive rockets. RPGs were revolutionized by the Soviet Union, whose RPG-7 is the namesake of RPG; the RPG-7's abbreviation comes from the Russian translation for "Handheld Anti-tank Grenade Launcher". RPGs have since been employed by insurgents, Third World countries, and former Eastern Bloc nations, being used extensively by communists in the Vietnam War, by the Mujahideen in the Soviet-Afghan War, by SWAPO in the South African Border War, the Chechen Wars, Iraq War, and Sri Lankan Civil War. In 1984, the US invented a new breech-loading RPG called the SMAW, one of the few non-muzzle-loading RPGs.